I have to admit that the license plate slogans of Canada’s provinces and territories is not the most riveting topic, but I’ve been curious about their origins for a while now. Here’s what I’ve learned.

British Columbia

“Beautiful British Columbia,” a straightforward reference to the province’s stunning scenery, was first used in government material in 1964.

Alberta

“Wild Rose Country” has appeared on Alberta license plates since 1973. The wild rose (Rosa acicularis) was adopted as the official provincial flower in 1930.

Saskatchewan

The current Saskatchewan license plate slogan is “Land of Living Skies.” (For a few years in the 1950s it was “Wheat Province.”) According to this blog post, Saskatchewan got this name “because its citizens have the largest and longest un-interrupted view of the wind system known as the jet-stream which passes through Saskatchewan 73.6% of the year bringing with it large amounts of interesting cloud formations and ever changing weather systems.”

Manitoba

“Friendly Manitoba” has been used on license plates since 1976. The first slogan used (from 1971 to 1975) was “Sunny Manitoba,” along with “100,000 Lakes.” I couldn’t uncover the origin of the phrase “Friendly Manitoba,” so if you have an insight, please leave me a comment.

Ontario

Since 1982 the Ontario license plate slogan has been “Yours to Discover,” probably inspired by a tourism slogan dating back to 1927. (Twitter hijacked the phrase in 2011!) Previously “Keep It Beautiful” was used (1973-1982).

Quebec

“Je me souviens” (“I remember”) replaced “La belle province – The Beautiful Province” as the Quebec license plate slogan in 1978, but its origins are much older. In fact nearly a century earlier architect Eugène-Étienne Taché invented the motto and had it carved on Quebec’s parliament building, under the provincial coat of arms. Despite a more elaborate theory promoted by Taché’s granddaughter, the meaning of the motto is a simple exhortation to remember the past.

New Brunswick

Currently New Brunswick has no slogan on its license plates (simply “New/Nouveau Brunswick”). The tagline “Picture Province” was used until 1972 and 2009 to 2011 saw the short-lived “Be…in this place” (a rebranding effort of the Liberal government, dumped by the Progressive Conservatives; suspiciously similar to a former PEI motto?).

Nova Scotia

The slogan used on Nova Scotia’s license plates since 1972 (“Canada’s Ocean Playground”) was coined by Alistair J. Campbell (1885-1960), effective head of the Nova Scotia Tourist Association for over twenty years.

Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island’s license plates have featured eight different slogans since 1962: “Garden of the Gulf,” “Garden Province,” “The Place to Be…In 73,” Seat Belts Save,” “Home of ‘Anne of Green Gables,'” “Confederation Bridge,” “Birthplace of Confederation,” and “Canada’s Green Province.” The current slogan — “Birthplace of Confederation” — refers to the Charlottetown Conference of 1864, when delegates from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Upper and Lower Canada (Ontario and Quebec) met to discuss merging the colonies. (Interestingly P.E.I. did not become part of Canada until 1873.)

Newfoundland & Labrador

Currently Newfoundland’s license plates have no slogan. In fact in nearly a century they’ve only included slogans in a handful of years, such as 1967 (“Canada Centennial”). They’ve also briefly used “Canada’s Happy Province,” “The Mighty Churchill,” “A World of Difference,” and “Cabot — Celebrate 500 Years.” (Apparently “The Mighty Churchill” refers to the Churchill River and Falls.)

Yukon

Yukon has used three slogans since 1952: “Land of the Midnight Sun” (until 1970), “Home of the Klondike” (1971-77), and “Klondike” (1978-present). “Klondike” of course refers to an area of the territory famous for the Klondike Gold Rush of 1897-99.

Northwest Territories

Currently Northwest Territories’ license plates say, “Spectacular Northwest Territories.” As far as I can tell the two slogans they used for long stretches were “Canada’s Northland” (1954-1969) and “Explore Canada’s Arctic” (1986-2009). They also briefly used “Centennial” and “RCMP Centennial.” I think many people will agree that the most interesting thing about their license plates is that they are shaped like a polar bear! Here’s an explanation of how that came about: “It was in 1969 that the government of the Northwest Territories proposed a contest for school children throughout the territories whereby a unique license plate design was sought. This design was to symbolize their homeland and be representative of the Northwest Territories. The winning entry came from a student by the name of Klaus Schoenne from the Yellowknife area. This design depicted a a walking polar bear in the two most-common-seen colors in the Northwest Territories; Blue for the sky, and White for the snow-covered-ground.”

Nunavut

In 1999 Northwest Territories was divided to form the additional territory of Nunavut. The same bear-shaped plates were used in both territories until 2011 when Ron Froese won a contest to design a new license plate. The plates do not include a slogan but feature a polar bear, an inuksuk, three sets of northern lights, and 25 stars.

I hope you learned something mildly interesting. Please leave a comment if you have more accurate information for me.

Sources

• “Beautiful B.C. is a Fact, According to a New Poll”

• “Alberta to drop ‘Wild Rose Country’ from licence plates”

• “Alberta (AB) – Facts, Flags and Symbols”

• “Vehicle registration plates of Saskatchewan”
• “Vehicle registration plates of Manitoba”
• “Ontario – Canada ‘Yours to Discover'”
• “The Motto of Quebec: ‘Je me souviens'”
• “N.B. dumps licence plate slogan”
• “Be … in which place? Decades-old P.E.I. licence plate evokes recent N.B. slogan”
• “‘Canada’s Ocean Playground’: The Tourism Industry in Nova Scotia, 1870-1970”
• “History of the Licence Plate in Nova Scotia – Canada”
• “Vehicle registration plates of Prince Edward Island”
• “P.E.I., Birthplace of Canada? Let’s get the facts straight”
• “Vehicle registration plates of Newfoundland and Labrador”
• “Vehicle registration plates of Yukon”
• “Vehicle registration plates of the Northwest Territories”
• “Northwest Territories Canada License Plates”
• “Vehicle registration plates of Nunavut”